


It Is Enough

by SoulUntraveled



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, One-Shot, Shmi's legacy- Star Wars AU, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulUntraveled/pseuds/SoulUntraveled
Summary: Happy moments are fleeting, a short commercial break of comfort and elation before its back to life's regularly scheduled mayhem. and though looking into the past causes her so much pain-Ahsoka remembers.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano
Kudos: 23





	It Is Enough

Fresh air, whispering trees, the distant call of ocean birds and salt on humid wind so thick she could taste it.

She took a deep breath, relishing the rare moment of peace and inhaling the heady aroma of worn metal, the tangy hint of sweat, oil, and open sky. _His_ scent.

Even when his handsome face faded little by little in her memory no matter how hard she tried to hold on, she never could forget his scent.

She had read somewhere that for Togrutas found the scent of another member of the opposite sex pleasant it meant they were a desirable mate. Even though he was not a member of her race she found his scent (and the rest of him) very desirable indeed.

Ahsoka wondered if the same thing worked for humans…

The young Togruta Padawan drew in another long deep breath and let out a languid content sigh, her eyes closed and head tilted back, soaking up the sun like a lounging tooka. This was why when Master Skywalker spoke she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Beaches are weird.”

Coughing to cover how badly he had startled her Ahsoka scrunched her nose in confusion at the young man sitting off the edge of the Wookie hut next to her.

“What?” She asked, the rounded bubble of a laugh tittering at the edge of her voice, not knowing where his declaration was going but already familiar with her Skyguy’s insightful tangents.

She wondered if odd trains of thought was a human thing too.

“Why?” She asked, fighting to keep the fond grin off her face watching his contemplative expression grow serious as he pondered the significance behind his odd statement.

The odd pair were sitting on an elevated Wookie hut overlooking the Kachirho beachhead, their legs swinging free to the wind several hundred feet above the ground. Her actual Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the rest of the 212th couldn’t spare the troops to support the 501’s Special Operations into the heart of the CIS Kashyyk campaign, but they could spare her.

Ahsoka preferred it this way truthfully. Back when she suffered under Master Krell’s tutelage the boys of the 501st were her family, and since becoming Kenobi’s apprentice she had missed them terribly. But she was content knowing that Anakin led them now that Krell is gone.

Sometimes though she can’t help but wonder what it would have been like if she had become Skywalker’s apprentice instead.

“Well,”

Ahsoka turned her attention to the older man’s face, her traitorous eyes darting between his lips and dexterous fingers as he spoke, hands waving to the shoreline stretching out below them.

“Water, I’m a fan of. We all need it, we all drink it-“

“-but not this water,” Ahsoka chirped. “It being an ocean and all.”

“Hush,” Anakin chided throwing her a playful smirk. “I’m trying to impart upon you just a fraction of my invaluable wisdom young one.”

“I’m seventeen you senile old man.”

“And I’m twenty two.” He shot back. Ahsoka guffawed at his offended glare that crumbled away into a chuckle as he joined in her amusement.

“Anyway, where was I before I was rudely interrupted?”

“Something about water and whining about sand like a little bitch?” Ahsoka drawled, head rolling back lazily to soak up more sun.

A focused Force blast gently thumped the underside of her nose and Ahsoka was powerless to stop the tiny mousy sneeze that followed. She pointed a glare down at her scrunched nose, cerulean eyes crossing hilariously before fixing the culprit beside her with an angry stare. Anakin on the other hand was too busy laughing to care. The twit was on his back holding his aching sides and doing absolutely nothing to hide his mirth.

“Wha-What was that?” He asked breathlessly, between guffaws. “You-you’re I didn’t know a person can even _make_ a sound like that! That sneeze was _adorable!_ ”

“You’re a jerk.” She huffed, crossing her arms, and doing her best to ignore the funny things his deep rolling laughter was doing to her insides. “Can you quit laughing and just get on with your lesson O’ great and venerable Master Jedi?”

“Right, right.” Anakin wheezed, leveling himself off the floor waving off the cranky Togruta girl. He coughed and cleared his throat, though his voice was still cracking a little from his laughter. “So. Beaches-”

“-And water-“ Ahsoka supplied.

“-And sand.” Anakin’s breathless expression darkened into a comically grave scowl that had Ahsoka swallowing a snort. It wasn’t a giggle. She did not giggle. Jedi did not giggle. And Anakin is not funny. Really. Honest.

“Sand?” She asked. He nodded solemnly, clearly basking in her attention and amusement.

“Yes.” He drew himself up, broad armored shoulders squared and chest out in an overexaggerated imitation of Obi-Wan psyching himself up for a lecture.

“You see my young Padawan, beaches are nature’s paradox.” He looked like he was having way too much fun playing the part of Master, mechno-hand waving around the air as if pointing to an unseen holoprojector displaying some fictional lesson. “Water is wet.”

“Really? Wow Master Skywalker I had no idea.” Ahsoka drawled, rolling her eyes so hard she almost pulled a muscle.

“Don’t make me boop you again.” He threatened, poking a mechno finger into her side, aiming for the ticklish spot below her ribs. Ahsoka batted the offending appendage away and put her hands up in defeat. Satisfied in his victory Anakin continued.

“Well, I mean of all two things to find together, water and sand?” He gestured to the pristine white coastline with a torn look of distain as if the very shore had personally affronted him. “I love water, but sand? Nope. Not for me. Because on a beach, to get to the water you have to walk over all that sand, so by the time you get to the water your covered in the stuff. It's coarse and rough irritating and it gets everywhere… but at least you can wash it off. But that’s not the worse part!”

“No?” Ahsoka prompted, fighting her smile.

“No.” Anakin continued grim shadows etched into the lines around his eye as he imparted his wisdom. “The worst part is when you get out of the water, you gotta walk back over the shore and get covered in sand all over again!”

Ahsoka tittered, purring laughter rumbling from deep in her breast and up her throat. “You- you’re hopeless!”

“It’s a travesty!”

“The fact that the Hero with No Fear is scared of sand is a travesty.”

Anakin chuckled, matching her grin with a lopsided smile of his own. “Well even I have a flaw, as close to perfection as I am.” Ahsoka snorted as he added. “Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair for the rest of you mere mortals.”

“Gee thanks.” Ahsoka deadpanned. Anakin chortled and she thumped him in the arm, then the pair lapsed into a comfortable silence.

“You know,” Ahsoka began, drawing Anakin’s brilliant blue eyes. “Sand I don’t mind so much, though I’m not a huge fan of water.”

Anakin quirked a brow. “Yesterday weren’t you telling me about when you were involved in the Mon Cala civil war?”

“Hey, just ‘cuz I can swim doesn’t mean I like it.” Ahsoka gave him a sheepish shrug. “Being underwater for long stretches of time messes with my hearing.” She trailed a thumb over the web of healed cracks spread over her left montral. The hollow bone like ossicones give her and other Togruta a kind of passive echolocation, making her hearing sensitive. Water, air pressure and other factors can mess with her hearing and balance horribly, making it a kind of double edged sword.

“I was slapping and shaking my head like a dog for days after we left because I thought I still felt water pressing around my horns. That and it feels slimy and cold when it gets on your clothes.” She pulled a face and stuck out a tongue. “Just… ick. No thank you.”

Anakin snorted then gave her a considering look. One she recognized when he was contemplating telling her about his past. She ate up every morsel of information about his life and kept them close to her chest. It made her feel special and… wanted knowing things that he hasn’t told anyone else outside of perhaps Obi-Wan and maybe his close friend Senator Amidala.

He seemed to have come to a decision because his handsome face softened and he carded a hand though the honey brown locks that framed his ethereal blue eyes.

“I hated getting sand in my hair as a kid.” He admitted, his voice going soft almost as though he was afraid to poke at the memories he was sharing lest they bite back. Ahsoka felt an aching sorrow ripple through their Force bond and she had to blink back tears, tears that she wasn’t entirely sure were her own.

_Home, death, sun, dunes, love, hope, home, mother, hurt, pain, pain, blood, agony, too late, too late, I’m too LATE! So sorry, I’m so sorry-_

Wrestling herself from the tide of emotions flooding her mind (This was Anakin _muted_ behind ironclad mental shields and she shuddered to think of the maelstrom that lay on his side of the bond) she calmed her beating heart and relaxed, trying to bleed the residual hurt and pain out into the Force.

She must have flinched because Anakin realized that his emotions were leaking out from his mental shields and his defenses slammed shut, offering respite from the emotional onslaught.

This wasn’t the first time something like this happened. In fact this was a very mild incident compared to a couple of times in the past. The flashes and snippets of feelings and images she gets are almost always the same, or at least similar. She is just too scared to ask. A large part of her almost doesn’t want to know, but the rest of her wants to be there for him. to ease his pain and hurt, even just a little bit. Just like he had done for her.

They sat in silence as she recovered. She distracted herself with studying his hair and she found it wasn’t that hard.

Glowing azure eyes roamed across the forest of massive trees to where the shore melded into the sun painted ocean. A ray of dappled sunlight lit up Anakin’s form, melting his light brunette hair into strands of gold and Ahsoka was conflicted on which view was more beautiful.

_When did I find hair attractive of all things? It’s like… skin spaghetti, right?_

She was struck with the overwhelming urge to run her fingers though his light brunette locks and find out. She wondered if it was as soft as it looked.

She also wondered where she had left her brain, because she clearly lost her bloody mind even considering fondling a Jedi Master no less, in broad daylight.

_Ugh, hormones. Growing up sucks._

He noticed her unusually intense inspection and cocked an eyebrow. She felt heat darken her leeku and scorch her orange cheeks a dusty hazel but he didn’t seem to notice her embarrassment for getting caught staring. She was just thankful he couldn’t read the weird thoughts running through her head. that would have been mortifying.

However in a rare display of self-consciousness he swallowed and ran his fingers though his hair, sweeping aside an adventurous strand of honey brown hair.

“Well, then I believe I may have discovered a solution.” Anakin proclaimed, breaking the silence, unaware that he had just saved herself from her stupid crush and him from a very awkward conversation about skin spaghetti.

“Oh?” She asked, stuffing her lusty daydreams and weird awkwardness in a mental box and throwing away the key, at least until she bunked down and spent the night cringing at herself. “And what is that?”

“If I need to get to the water than I can just hitch a ride on your back over the sand!”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, the tension in her shoulders relaxing as he drew her back into their conversation. “And what about me and the water?” She asked playfully.

Anakin smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder and Ahsoka jumped from the giddy warmth that blossomed from his touch. She had to suppress a full-body shudder as the warmth spread to the rest of her and trickled through her veins and pooled into a molten mess just below her navel.

Unaware of the effect he had on the poor girl Anakin answered in a low voice, “ If you ever find yourself in over your head and drowning, just reach out and take my hand.” He squeezed her shoulder affectionately. “I’ll be there pull you up. I’ll even carry you from the water myself if I have to.”

The heat in her belly apparently decided it would better make an appearance on her face and Ahsoka turned her head away so he couldn’t see the way her cheeks color from orange to deep red and her the blue stripes on her leeku flush a deep purple. Once she got her (stupid, stupid, stupid!) blush under control and gathered her scattered wits she mulled his words over in her head and let out a scoff.

Brushing his hand from her shoulder (and only briefly mourning the loss of contact) she fixed him with a look of exasperated disbelief. “No. You’re not doing that.”

Anakin’s eyebrows rose and disappeared behind his hair. “I’m not doing what?”

Crossing her arms and squaring her shoulders she deepened her voice in a mocking, passable imitation of him and said, “Turning your stupid “Beaches are weird.” Statement into some kind of deep, meaningful lesson. Nah uh. You,” She poked a finger into his armored chest. “are the weird one, Anakin Skywalker. And when we get to the beach I dare you to try and jump on my back.” She added with a little growl and another finger poke.

“Awww, I love you too Snips.” Anakin drawled, completely unconcerned with the predatory Togruta female baring her sharp teeth inches from his face.

He tilted his head and flashed her another lopsided grin. “You gotta work on your snarl though, tiger. ‘cuz the only thing you’re making me afraid of is my heart bursting from how cute that was. Like a tooka hissing at a cucumber- ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! Quit hitting me! I’m threatened! I consider myself threatened!”

Ahsoka’s ire was only mollified upon seeing the infuriating young man cowering, his arms raised above his head and pleading for mercy. She took pity on the silly male and crossed her arms with a huff, putting on an air of irritation.

It only lasted for a few seconds when she glanced over at his smug grin, azure eyes sparkling with laughter. Her façade crumbled and she mirrored his grin. He rested his hand on her back and she drank in the rare moment of affection, her unease for her past and her immediate future unraveling, for the moment at least.

“Love you Snips.” Anakin murmured, though this time the words were spoken in a somber, reverent tone. One she had only heard from him when he was absolutely serious. He was the only person to ever say them to her. Not even Master Plo had ever uttered them. Love wasn’t the Jedi way. It was an attachment. A risk. A direct path to the Dark Side. It was dangerous. It was _wrong…_ and yet…

“I-I love you too Skyguy.”

And yet she said them anyway. Because she did. Not in the same way he loved her but it was enough. She mattered to someone. Two someones really. Obi-Wan never said the words to her either but she heard Anakin tell Obi-Wan he loved the man on several occasions and she knew he cared deeply for her as much as his former apprentice, he just wasn’t so vocal about it.

Serious moment or not she couldn’t resist one last parting shot.

“You’re still weird though.”

“Why you-!”

Ahsoka descended into a fit of giggles as Anakin pounced on her, tickling her sides ruthlessly and for one beautiful moment her world stood still and she felt loved.

And it was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Weird little factoid for those that are curious, the scent thing mentioned in the beginning is actually a thing for humans. Funny, huh?
> 
> I am looking for a few beta readers for my current star wars projects. Interested? email me at SoulUntraveled@gmail.com


End file.
